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Stadium name and bowl game blues

Am I the only one who thinks the college football bowl game scenario has become a bit of a laughing stock? Sure, we still have the classics - the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Gator Bowl - but over the years there have sprouted a number of corporate-sponsored games with silly, commercial names like the Tostitos Bowl, Fritos Bowl, Doritos Bowl, the Campbell's Soup Bowl.... OK most of those aren't really bowl games. But Tostitos Bowl is real and the others might as well be. After all, there really is a Chick-Fil-A Bowl, Alamo Bowl (and not, it's not named after that historic place in San Antonio where Davy Crockett and his brave band of Americans battled Santa Ana's army), the GMAC Bowl, the Meineke Car Care Bowl, the MCP Computers Bowl, the Papa John's Pizza Bowl, the Outback Steakhouse Bowl.... To steal from John Stossel, "Give me a break!" Yes, I ask you, what parent wouldn't be proud to see a son play in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl? This bowl game silliness goes right along with the corporate sponsorship of professional sports stadiums. Some of them still carry the names of companies that have gone out of business. It's sad really. Venerable sports venues with storied names have been corrupted beyond recognition. Candlestick Park in San Fransisco became 3Com Stadium. Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego became Qualcomm Stadium. Boston Garden became the Fleet Center. Meadowlands Arena became Continental Airlines Arena. Mile High Stadium became Investco Field at Mile High. How ridiculous is that? Who's ever going to say that, "Hey honey. Let's take the kids to see the Broncos at Investco Field at Mile High?" Not gonna happen. Even the Great Western Forum, which was names for a bank, sounded kinda OK compared to it's replacement, The Staples Center. Corporate ego. Ya gotta love it.

The rain forest is wet this weekend. Squishy, ishy wet. There's standing water everywhere. Where the water's not standing, it's running, or dripping, or trickling. I have given up on trying to keep the mud out of the house. A thorough cleaning will just have to wait until things dry out a tad.
I painted the ceiling in the guest nook today. It's drying as we speak. Tomorrow is wall primer day. The wall primer must be applied separately from the white ceiling paint because the primer is not white. The paint guy put a speck of red in it to make it pink so that my top coat will cover it more easily.
I am babysitting my neighbors dog this weekend. I've mentioned her before. Her name is Nori, a 12 year old shepherd mix. She's adorable. I'd have her stay here, but her mom is not 100% sure how she might behave around the cats. So, to maintain domestic harmony here, I'm visiting Nori several times a day at her home. She lives in a funky, unpermitted house, with cool Ohia pole beams, a vintage 1930s style sink with a molded spot to put the dish drainer and a big loft. the ceiling must be 20 feet high in that place? It's pretty old and the neighbor, Nori's mom, is slowly but surely nursing it back to it's former glory. She's got her work cut out for her. The place has loads of character and the grounds are beautiful. Nori's mom went to visit family on Maui. So I'm pampering the little pooch as much as possible while she awaits mom's return.
A new podcast may soon be in the works. A few more technical glitches to overcome and I'm there.
A hui hou. Aloha!

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